Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Top 10 historical rivalries up through 2018-19

By Zac Voynow

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 29: Chris Mack the head coach of the the Louisville Cardinals and John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats talk before the game at KFC YUM! Center on December 29, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 29: Chris Mack the head coach of the the Louisville Cardinals and John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats talk before the game at KFC YUM! Center on December 29, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Kentucky vs. Louisville

Kentucky and Louisville is must-see TV.  What makes this rivalry so special is that it feels like every player and every game has a personal touch to it. It began due to the two schools battling to be the best in the state of Kentucky. However, It’s well known that Louisville’s cultural differences with the rest of state tends to rub Kentucky natives outside of Louisville the wrong way. What really fueled the rivalry was when Rick Pitino became the Louisville head coach in 2001. He was a legendary head coach at Kentucky from 1989-1997, and when he failed at coaching in the NBA, he decided to take over as the head coach of Kentucky’s biggest rival.

Kentucky leads the series all-time 36-16. Calipari has basically dominated the rivalry due to his impressive one-and-done freshman. The reason why there’s so many fewer games played in this rivalry is because Kentucky and Louisville only play once per season. Since they’ve always been in different conferences, there’s fewer games played between the two. This may actually enhance the hype around this rivalry, because there is no true rematch. There’s a one-game, winner take all event for the hearts of the state of Kentucky. There are no professional sports teams in Kentucky, so college athletics is all they have. That’s probably why Forbes listed Louisville as the richest athletic department in the nation, while Kentucky came in third.

The statistics in this rivalry don’t compare to some of the rest. To really understand it, you have to see it. They say seeing is believing, and in this instance that’s correct. Every year the state of Kentucky shuts down, or doesn’t cut off the game for a national Presidential announcement. Even Kentucky fans harrassed the refs so much during a UK-L’ville game that the ref filed a lawsuit against Rupp Arena.

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